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On Tuesday in Pittsburgh, Syracuse will look to get back to .500 after Saturday’s 20-point thrashing at the hands of Duke. The Orange trailed by 14 at halftime and watched the Blue Devils continue to build on that — at one point, SU was down by 31 points.

The Blue Devils used a plethora of 3-pointers to open the floodgates before capitalizing in the paint against Syracuse’s porous zone. Now, head coach Jim Boeheim’s team has a chance to sweep Pittsburgh — one of the conference’s worst teams — after defeating it on Jan. 11.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Panthers (7-12, 2-6 Atlantic Coast) before they face Syracuse (9-10, 3-5 ACC) on Tuesday at 8 p.m.:

All-time series

Syracuse leads the all-time series, 74-47.

Last time they played

Syracuse snapped a three-game losing streak with a 16-point victory over Pittsburgh on Jan. 11 in the Dome. The Orange held a comfortable first-half lead but blew it when they allowed a 13-0 run toward the end of the first frame. Buddy Boeheim’s four consecutive 3-pointers helped keep it close in the first half, SU’s head coach said afterward, and then Syracuse’s defense stepped up.

The unit has been shaky all season, but Boeheim said after the game that it was “by far the best it’s been all year.” In the second half, Syracuse held Pittsburgh without a second-half field goal for the first nine minutes. The Panthers got to the free-throw line frequently but it wasn’t enough.

“Our offense has been good all year — it’s our defense that was good,” Boeheim said after the game. “That was the difference.”

KenPom odds

KenPom gives Syracuse a 66% chance of victory with a projected score of 73-69.

Maya Goosmann | Digital Design Director

The Pitt report

The Panthers are coming off a 27-point defeat at the hands of Clemson on Saturday and are amid a two-game losing streak. In fact, KenPom currently projects the Panthers to win just one of their 11 remaining games (versus Georgia Tech).

Pittsburgh’s offense is struggling. It hasn’t topped 65 points in its last four games, shooting 38.3% from the field in its first game against the Orange. The Panthers offense ranked 218th in the nation two weeks ago ahead of the first matchup with Syracuse and has now slipped to 235th, per KenPom.

No team has a larger percentage of their points come from the free-throw line than Pittsburgh. The Panthers went to the free-throw line 26 times against SU, 19 against Louisville and 22 against Virginia. They’re excellent at drawing fouls — first in the nation in free-throw rate — but not quite as good at converting those free throws (shooting 68.7% from the line as a team).

But beyond the free-throw line, Pitt hasn’t flashed a lot of potential. It ranks 153rd in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom, and 212th in 3-point defense. The Panthers are a solid rebounding team and were outrebounded by just one against Syracuse.

How Syracuse beats Pitt

Syracuse found the recipe to beat Pittsburgh during the teams’ first matchup two weeks ago, so the Orange simply need to duplicate that. It consisted of containing John Hugley, the Panthers’ top scorer, and playing strong defense.

Pittsburgh will inevitably get to the free-throw line, but Syracuse will be content to allow that if it can defend the paint and the perimeter. The Orange will need another solid shooting performance, but that shouldn’t be much of a problem for a team with all five starters averaging double-digit points.

The biggest question, just like every other game this season, is about Syracuse’s defense. And if the Orange can play the way they did defensively last time against Pittsburgh, they’ll be able to take care of business in a must-win conference game.

Stat to know: 338th

Just 23.3% of the Panthers’ points come from beyond the arc, a clip that ranks 338th in the nation, according to KenPom. That means shooting from beyond the arc isn’t Pittsburgh’s speciality. On the other end, Syracuse likes to give up a lot of 3-pointers, so this matchup could be favorable for the Orange.

The Panthers shot 7-of-22 from beyond the arc at Syracuse in the first game. Substitute Nate Santos was 2-of-3 from 3 despite playing just nine minutes. After the game, Boeheim said if it weren’t for Santos, SU might’ve held Pitt without a 3-pointer for the entire second half.

Player to watch: John Hugley, forward, No. 23

Two weeks ago, Hugley was the player to watch when Pittsburgh visited the Carrier Dome. Not much has changed — he’s still the Panthers top scorer (15.8 points per game) and top rebounder (8.1 rebounds per game).

“Hugley is a beast, and he’s been getting a lot better. He’s playing really (well) right now, and it was tough to guard him,” center Jesse Edwards said after the first Pittsburgh game.

He’s excellent at getting to the free-throw line, ranking seventh in the nation in free-throw rate. But against Syracuse, the zone held up against Hugley. Edwards didn’t pick up a first-half foul, which he said allowed him to play more aggressively against Hugley.

Hugley finished with just eight points, six of which came from the free-throw line. The Orange’s defense, which hasn’t put together a consistent performance since the Pittsburgh game two weeks ago, will look to try and contain Hugley once again.

Published on January 24, 2022 at 8:30 pm

Contact Roshan: [email protected] | @Roshan_f16